What a good time for 'How much war!' to return!
On Wednesday, Quanta guerra! returned to TV3, arguably the best program currently available on public television. This time, Eloi Vila accompanied actor Roger Casamajor to retrace the steps of his grandfather Alejandro through the lands of Aragon, where he was sent with the Republican troops to halt the advance of the Francoists.
The Civil War has been explained to us inside out. Not precisely in school, but it has been a recurring theme in literature, cinema, series, documentaries, and photography exhibitions. Memorials and multiple initiatives have been created. Some stories, at times, turn out to be repetitive because they are told from a more generic point of view. In contrast, the approach of Quanta guerra! allows for the uniqueness of the narrative to be maintained. The program starts from a very specific individual case to delve into the intricacies of the conflict in a way that history often cannot accommodate with such detail. The story of Roger Casamajor's grandfather was particularly moving. But it was very successful on the part of the program to also bring together stories from other families at the point where the lives of their ancestors crossed.
There is a symptomatic scene for the underlying tension: when the actor is invited to try the same weapon his grandfather carried and he is reluctant to do so. And this, even though as an actor he had to handle fake ones in different productions. Casamajor doesn't seem entirely convinced of wanting to face the experience of firing a gun and accepts it somewhat reluctantly. The argument that makes him give in is to experience the same thing his grandfather must have felt when he had to use the weapon. It is this need for connection with those who are no longer here, to see what their eyes saw, to understand what they lived through, to return to the places where they ended up, that makes the program's journey so exciting. The way Quanta guerra! integrates photographs from the past with current images, explicitly stating the idea of revisiting spaces and landscapes, is very beautiful. It is not just a physical matter, but, in a way, also symbolic. It becomes a ritual of homage. Despite the passage of years, for a few moments, grandfather and grandson are closer. As we discovered the protagonist's suffering, the actor was experiencing a process of growing indignation. “No wonder he didn't want to talk about it. Who would want to talk about all this shit!” It is not common on television to see two men become emotional in such a spontaneous and sincere way, without the need for added words or theatrics.
The program's title connects with our present. Regardless of each viewer's family history with the Civil War, Quanta guerra! also speaks to us about the times we have to live in. We usually observe barbarity in other parts of the planet on television, in a world that seems increasingly tumultuous. And Eloi Vila's program reminds us that no suffering should be alien to us.